Dolphins Sunday Mailbag: What's Gone Wrong with the Defense?

Part 1 of a pre-Jets game Miami Dolphins On SI:

From Jonathan Cohn:

The season’s biggest mystery to me is the defense. A drop-off? Sure. Maybe they overperformed a bit last year. And, yes, we knew CB unit was a big problem. But to go from No. 4 defense to … this? What the heck happened?

Hey Jonathan, there are a whole bunch of factors involved in the poor performance of the defense. The list includes having too many new starters (entire secondary is brand new, for example), players trying to do too much, some guys simply not living up to their billing, and then some rookies who need some seasoning. I do believe the defense will get it together at some point, but when? That’s a different question.

From Mark Lever:

Is there any chance that Tua turns it around or has his time come and we’re drafting a QB in the first round?

Hey Mark, yes, Tua absolutely can turn it around and I’d say he overall didn’t play poor games against either New England or Buffalo; he just came up short at the end. While most of the passing game very well might remain short throws, the Dolphins got a lot of mileage at times in 2024 out of that very same strategy.

From silky:

Will the D be able to keep Fields in the pocket and limit his run game?

The better question is how much they’ll be able to do it because to expect Fields to not have any kind of success running the ball simply isn’t realistic. What the Dolphins can’t have is Fields running wild like he did in that 2022 game at Soldier Field.

From Andrew Smith:

If they drop to 0-4, how likely is it they start selling some guys? Which would be the first 5 worth shopping?

Hey Andrew, yep, I do think the Dolphins will start considering moving players if they indeed lose against the Jets, and it probably would start with Tyreek Hill. Other names to watch for then would be Jaelan Phillips and Bradley Chubb, and I hesitate to name other players because it would depend on what kind of return the Dolphins could get.

From Gabriel:

How do you feel about Weaver's strategy of not having any obvious strengths in order to make it difficult for opposing coordinators to game-plan for?

Looks like we have a comedian in our midst. But, yeah, the Dolphins didn’t have anything resembling a calling card on defense in the first three games.

From Tony Sasso:

Best player on the field Monday night, D Achane. True or false?

Hey Tony, is that the best player as a general statement or who’ll be the best player in the game Monday. If it’s the latter, the answer for me would be either Tyreek Hill (yes, still) or Quinnen Williams of the Jets. As for who’ll be the best player in the game Monday night, yeah, I certainly could see Achane being that guy.

From mrdodger1966:

Will Fins win by 20 ... or even more????

What did we see in the first three games to suggest the Dolphins are ready to blow out any team. Any team. Sorry. This would be a bigger surprise to me than the Dolphins actually losing this game.

From Jorge boyd:

Hi Alain, will the Dolphins be able to run the ball against the Jets? I hear the Jets have a pretty good run defense.

Hey Jorge, the Jets were supposed to have a good run defense, but it certainly wasn’t good at all against the Buffalo Bills in Week 2 and it overall ranks 23rd in yards allowed per game and 15th per rushing attempt. But, yes, the Dolphins should be able to have some success running the ball. How much success they have could go a long way toward determining what team wins the game.

From Mark@Merrymeeting:

Many have discussed the Dolphins replacing GM Grier. If the team chose to replace Grier with a local media personality, who could you see doing a decent job? What about a national media personality? Context- Larry Dierker and JJ Redick both made the transition in other sports.

Hey Mark, if we’re talking local media personality, the only correct is myself (of course). That’s the only way I’d ever answer that question, though I don’t consider myself a personality (but that’s a different conversation). As for national media, I’d suggest either Louis Riddick or Daniel Jeremiah, both of whom have NFL front office experience.

From Jayco:

What do you most attribute the Tua decline to?

Hey Jayco, that’s an interesting question and the one thing that jumps out to me is that Tua simply looks skittish in the pocket, like he gets worried about the pass rush before it gets there. That’s causing him to miss receivers and sometimes not set his feet properly and sail some throws. Whether the reason is he simply doesn’t trust the offensive line, is overly concerned with protecting himself and is dealing with the cumulative effects of his injuries, I’m not sure, but that’s the one thing I’ve clearly noticed.

From Ignacio vidal:

Is it fair to say that nothing in the team will change until they fire Grier? He’s the common denominator these past 25 years of misery.

Hey Ignacio, yeah, that would seem like a logical conclusion, but it could be that the team simply needs a major overhaul, period, beyond simply Grier if things continue going in the wrong direction.

From FishyFootball:

Estimate return dates for all injured players.

The Dolphins currently have six players on various injury/illness lists, so here’s a quick rundown. Liam Eichenberg, who’s on PUP, isn’t expected anytime soon. I’d suspect Andrew Meyer will be back pretty soon, maybe as early as next week. Cam Smith is on NFI, but I wouldn’t expect him back anytime soon, if at all. Jason Sanders is eligible to come off IR next week, but I’m thinking he probably needs a couple more weeks to recover. That leaves the two offensive lineman, James Daniels and Austin Jackson, both eligible to come off IR after Week 5. I’m honestly not sure what the outlook is for either player at this time.

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